London After Midnight with Lon Chaney

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     Most of my favorite silent movie actors are the comedians but I also love Douglas Fairbanks (Sr.) for adventure and Lon Chaney (Sr.) for pathos. Although mostly known as a horror actor for the make-up he designed and wore as Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and as the Phantom of Opera he played a variety of roles. Having been raised by deaf parents he could express so much without a word, which helped in silent films.

     He made ten films with the great director Tod Browning (Dracula and Freaks). One of them is the subject of this blog. London After Midnight may well be the most famous lost film. Surprisingly a copy of it still exited in 1965 when the vault it was in at MGM went up in flames. No actual footage is known to exist. I imagined what if this movie still exited and Phantom of the Opera had been lost.

A reconstruction was made based on the script and the existing photos from the film.

    London After Midnight (1927)

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